Living in Shanghai

Health

The street food stalls in Shanghai have some delicious offerings and are a popular way of eating out. That said, it’s always a good idea to carefully choose where you go eat. When choosing a food stall to go to, just use your good judgement to see if the food preparation area appears clean and that there seems to be high turnover of the food/ingredients to ensure everything is fresh. It’s also smart to order freshly prepared dishes over food that has been sitting out. It’s also advisable that you don’t eat street food as your first meal of the day or on a completely empty stomach.

Tap water in Shanghai is not safe for drinking. It is generally fine for brushing your teeth. We suggest boiling your own water to clear it from bacteria for drinking, or purchasing in large quantities from the store.

When you Get Sick

It is not uncommon for students to get sick at some point while in Shanghai. Unfortunately it just goes with the traveling, change in environment, eating foods you may not be used to, lack of sleep, etc. We suggest you carry with you a couple of over the counter medications for stomach issues, vitamin C packets that you can put in a water bottle and maybe some cold medicine so you are prepared!

If you feel that you need to see a doctor, you should go to United Healthcare as this hospital is familiar with TEAN’s CISI insurance. The staff and doctors can speak English and are used to foreigners. Shanghai United Family Hospital is about a 30-40 minute taxi ride from the apartments and dorms. The taxi cost is about RMB80-90.

Shanghai United Family Hospital
1139 Xianxia Road, Changning District, Shanghai 200336
上海和睦家医院上海市长宁区仙霞路1139号 邮编：200336
Appointment Center: 400 639 3900
24-hour Emergency Hotline: +86 (21) 2216 3999
Phone: +86 (21) 2216 3900
Email: shuptservice@ufh.com.cn

For serious conditions call your TEAN Resident Director, Medusa. If you are unable to contact Medusa use the details on your contact card to call other TEAN staff. But generally, for more serious ailments Medusa can arrange to take you to the hospital.

Health Insurance

Make sure you take your CISI insurance information and passport with you. You should show the hospital your CISI insurance information and passport. They should be able to connect with CISI directly. If not, you can ask to make a collect call from a hospital phone. The number is on your insurance card.

The payment guarantee from CISI may take a couple of hours to come through. If you are in and out within that time it may be easiest to pay upfront and claim the expense back later from CISI.

Insurance Claim

If you visited a doctor and paid for your medical expenses upfront, download the form from the link below. Follow the instructions on the form to submit your claim directly to CISI.

Safety

Shanghai is a safe and welcoming place as long as you use common sense, respect the culture and obey Chinese laws.

Below you will find taxi cards for your housing, the Fudan campus and the hospital that takes your CISI insurance. Always carry these on you. It’s a good idea to keep printed copies in your wallet, as well as photocopies on your phone.

Always carry your mobile phone with you so that you can contact TEAN staff in an emergency and TEAN staff can also contact you in an emergency.

Adding Phone Credit

Credit can be added through Alipay or your Chinese roommate can help you charge it online if you give them cash.

Set Up a Data Plan

Everyone will go to the China Unicom office during orientation to set up a data plan. You will then be able to change the data plan online yourself if you wish.

Guest Policy

Students are not permitted to have any overnight guests in the apartments or the dorms. Please follow this policy as we do not want any housemates/roommates feeling uncomfortable.

Cleaning

Bi-weekly cleaning is performed in the off-campus TEAN apartments. This service is not included for on-campus Fudan dormitories. Despite the regular cleanings, you are expected to take out your trash, do your dishes and keep your housing clean. Failure to do so will result in an adjustment to your housing security deposit refund.

Walking

Many students will walk from their housing to campus. For those of you off campus, when you leave your apartment, you’ll want to make a right on to Daxue Lu and then a left on Guoding Lu. This will lead you to the edge of campus from where you will need to locate the building you are traveling to. You can find a campus map of Fudan here.

Bikes

Used bikes can be purchased from the vendors on the west end of campus, off of Denguhi Ring Road. An average used bike is about RMB150-250, and can commonly be sold back to the vendors at the end of the semester.

Metro

The Shanghai Metro is a cheap and efficient way to get around Shanghai. Each ride is about RMB2-4. You should already have a metro card and you can use the machines and add credit with your card. You should be able to easily navigate the Shanghai metro with the help of the app MetroMan.

Taxi

Taxis are easily flagged down all over Shanghai. Major roads are much easier to find taxis on. Unless your Chinese is very good, you will likely need taxi cards to navigate around. These are found in the “Safety” section. We also advise that you download the Smart Shanghai app, as it will give you taxi cards to points of interest.

Rideshare

Uber is not available in Shanghai, but you can use the Chinese equivalent, Didi to find a taxi or ride share.

Bikes

While it is useful to use a bike to get around the Fudan campus area, we do not advise biking in downtown or on major roads in Shanghai as it can be quite dangerous. Mobike and Ofo are the most popular bike rental companies. Students need to download the apps and have a local bank account before you can use your cell phone to unlock a Mobike or Ofo bike which you’ll find scattered everywhere – there are always available bikes parked around campus and outside the apartments!

Helpful Chinese Phrases

Hello 你好
Bathroom 卫生间
Do you speak English 你会说英语吗？
I don‘t speak Chinese 我不会说中文。
I’m sorry 对不起
Excuse me 不好意思
Thank you 谢谢
How much is it 这个多少钱？
Too expensive 太贵了

Lost Passport

If you lose your passport while you are abroad, you will first need to notify Medusa and she can help you file a police report. Then you will want to visit the U.S. Embassy website to make sure you are prepared for the next several steps. You will also have to apply for a replacement Chinese visa, so please be sure to work carefully with Medusa and follow all of the steps listed on the Embassy website. This website is an also a great resource for outlining the process for you.